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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Zimsterne (pronounced “tszimt’-shtair-ne”) and means Zimt = Cinnamon; Sterne = Stars. This is another classic German Christmas cookie. This is a great chewy cookie with cinnamon and almond flavor. The ground almonds give it a nice texture. The cinnamon is perfect and not overpowering. A six-pointed star is the traditional shape for this cookie but if you only have a regular star cutter that works just as well. See recipe below.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Lebkuchen are a classic German Christmas gingerbread cookie made with honey and spices. Lebkucken are a cross between a cookie and cake. You get a nice crunchy bite from the ground almonds and the texture is cake-like. The spices are warm and flavorful. The slivered almonds on top really bring the cookie together. Enjoy some Lebkuchen with tea or coffee. See recipe below.

Once cool, add melted butter and honey to dry ingredients stirring with a spatula.

Once dough forms, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Lebkuchen

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough with rolling pin in between two sheets of parchment paper.

Use a small or medium size cookie scoop or roll a ball with your hands and place two inches apart on the cookie sheets. Using the palm of your hand press each cookie and add 2-3 slivered almonds on top.

Cookies are out of the oven. Check out my new Wilton Cookie Spatula!

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 13 minutes.

Monday, December 25, 2017

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas. We went to my brother's house last night and celebrated Christmas Eve with my family and friends. We had a great time together. I made three batches of this cookie recipe from Sweetopia (see link below), one batch was gluten free. I made over 240 cookies counting the Gingerbread Cookies and decorated each one. Needless to say, I was very busy this week decorating cookies. The photos represent just some of the cookies. My table is not big enough to put them all together for a picture. I used two different icings, royal and egg-free. The only change to the cookie recipe is the addition of 1 tablespoon of milk. See cookie recipe and the two icing recipes below.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.

With mixer speed on low, slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.

If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.

Holly

Holly, gluten free

Egg-Free Icing (Double recipe if you have more than 40 cookies)
6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1/2 cup Whole Milk + 1 tablespoon extra (for flooding cookies)

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract

Reindeer

Stockings

Stockings, gluten free

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.

Using stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, combine sugar and 1/4 cup of milk and mix for 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you need. (I made one batch for the borders, and 1 batch to fill the cookies). For filling the cookies, I added 1 extra tablespoon of milk.

Add corn syrup, vanilla extract and mix for 10 seconds.

Note: The corn syrup gives the icing a lovely shine.
For both icing recipes, I separated the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many different colors needed for tinting.

I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in various colors. Use 1-2 drops at a time until you have the color you need.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

I transferred the icing immediately into squeeze bottles using a small funnel to prevent spilling.

If the royal icing hardens due to exposure to air, use a spray bottle and spray a little bit of water and shake bottle well holding the tip with your finger. Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie.

Royal Icing

Metallic Food Paint I ordered for the Snowglobes

Gluten Free Flour I bought

I outlined the cookies first and then filled them.

Use a paintbrush or cookie stick to reach edges, and use tip of cookie stick or a toothpick to pop any air bubbles.